American Athletic Conference strives to stick with Power Five

Navy joining league that was left out of big-money TV deals

It's sad to see the NCAA, which is led by a duplicitous president in Mark Emmert, knuckle under to the demands of the Power Five. Scared by the threat of the Power Five breaking away (and taking all the television revenue with them), the NCAA caved and came off looking like an organization with no backbone.

In an article that appeared in Friday's edition of The Capital, head coach Ken Niumatalolo and athletic director Chet Gladchuk discussed Navy's place in the changing landscape of Division I college football.

Niumatalolo and Gladchuk were reacting to the news that NCAA members had granted the so-called "Power Five" conferences the autonomy to govern themselves. Under what is known as "permissive legislation," the Big 12, Atlantic Coast, Pacific-12, Southeastern and Big Ten conferences will be allowed to propose, pass and manage special rules important to their members.

Almost immediately, athletic directors from the five richest conferences mentioned cost-of-attendance stipends and four-year scholarship guarantees as likely changes to come from the new-found autonomy. Other proposals include allowing student-athletes to transfer without penalty and to have contact with agents.

It's sad to see the NCAA, which is led by a duplicitous president in Mark Emmert, knuckle under to the demands of the Power Five. Scared by the threat of the Power Five breaking away (and taking all the television revenue with them), the NCAA caved and came off looking like an organization with no backbone.

I must say that I have mixed feelings about the changes coming to big-time college athletics. On the one hand, there is no doubt the NCAA has been operating as a giant cartel with the organization and its members making billions on the backs of unpaid labor.

Arguments that a college scholarship is payment enough for Division I football and basketball players are ludicrous considering the obscene amount of money being made off their talents and entertainment value. Basically, the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken in the much-publicized Ed O'Bannon case states that major college sports are not an amateur endeavor, but rather a big-time business.

However, the down side is a complete collapse of the purity (however tainted) of collegiate athletics and the almost-certain movement to a semi-pro model in which football and basketball players at the Power Five schools could potentially be paid handsome sums.

Nobody has enjoyed more success against the Power Five than Navy, which has 21 victories over such schools since 2003. The Midshipmen have beaten Notre Dame three times since 2007, blew out Missouri 35-13 in the 2009 Texas Bowl and absolutely embarrassed Stanford 37-9 in the very first game played at its new stadium in 2006.

Gladchuk said the Power Five Conferences believe their claim of superiority will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

"This whole evolution has been a strategic plan and with all this money going to those five conferences, they are saying it's only a matter of time before even the lesser programs will separate from the rest of the pack," Gladchuk said.

That attitude is based solely on finances as the Power Five conferences all have secured television contracts worth in excess of $200 million. By contrast, the American Athletic Conference, which is widely considered the most competitive of the remaining five, recently signed a six-year deal with ESPN and CBS that will reportedly pay $22-25 million. That's peanuts when you consider that each of the 14 SEC schools can expect to receive $30 million per year in television payouts.

Despite the massive financial disparity, commissioner Mike Aresco said it is imperative for the American Athletic Conference to think, act and compete as though it were part of the Power Five. Aresco refuses to accept the perception that the AAC, which Navy will be joining as a football-only member in 2015, is in any way inferior to those five leagues.

"We are a power conference, pure and simple, that's what we are," Aresco told The Times-Picayune of New Orleans last week while visiting Tulane.

"We can compete with anyone. We have to be smarter. We have to use our resources in a more intelligent way. We've done that historically. It's a new world now. There are many great student-athletes out there. We're in great recruiting areas. We think we're going to do fine. We think we came through it quite well. I know there will be questions about the new NCAA governance redesign. But it's not threatening us. We're going to be fine."

Aresco's strategy is to have the American Athletic Conference prove on the football fields and basketball courts that it is every bit as strong, from top to bottom, as the Power Five. If that happens, the AAC can put itself in the top tier in terms of revenue when the next television deal is struck.

"Mike Aresco's position has been that the American has got to elevate itself to the power six or the power five and a half, whatever you want to call it. We have to aspire to stick with this group. If we can be strong as a conference, we can compete in that playoff system," Gladchuk said.

Aresco admits it will be tough for an AAC member to earn one of four berths in the new college football playoff. However, he darn sure believes an unbeaten AAC program should be in the conversation and noted that if Cincinnati could pull off a perfect season, that would include road victories over Ohio State and Miami.

Last season, Central Florida captured the Fiesta Bowl by beating Baylor, which had been in contention for the national championship. Of course, AAC member Connecticut swept the men's and women's college basketball national championships.

Whether the American can eventually force its way into the upper echelon is yet to be determined. But for now it absolutely must show that it is stronger across the board than the other current have-nots – the Mid-American, the Sun Belt, the Mountain West and Conference USA.

"Mike believes the American is not so far removed from this equation that it should be discounted, that the American is on the brink of being part of the top grouping," Gladchuk said.

"Whether we can break into that group remains to be seen, but what is important for the American Athletic Conference is to separate from the other four. Therefore, there would need to be consideration for the AAC. Everyone seems to be committed to doing what it takes to be a conference of relevance. I think we have a very good chance of hanging around the big dogs."

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